Jay Z: The 40 million album man

The documentary of American rap star, Jay
Z’s ‘Made In America’ music festival is set to
debut at the Toronto International Film
Festival on September 7, 2013.
A month later, precisely on October 11, the
documentary of the annual two-day music
festival will hit Showtime Cable Network.
Basically, the documentary will chronicle Jay
Z creating the festival which held in
September 2012.
Held in Philadelphia, the concert featured
performances by some other artistes
including Kanye West, Drake, Tyler, Pearl Jam
and Run DMC. Interviews by some of the
artistes have been said to also feature in the
documentary.
The film was directed by Ron Howard with the
trailer for the documentary already out.
Showtime president of entertainment, David
Nevins, said, “Ron Howard and Jay-Z have
crafted an inspirational portrayal of American
resilience, drive and creativity, interwoven
with an incredible showcase of musical
talent.”
At this year’s show, however, Jay Z’s wife,
Beyonce Knowles, entertained the crowd with
a 90-minute performance that featured songs
like ‘Crazy in Love’ and ‘Single Ladies (Put a
ring on it).
Jay Z is one of the world’s most successful
hip hop artistes, having sold over 40 million
albums in his career.
In June 2013, Samsung bought a million
copies of his recent album, ‘Magna Carta
Holy Grail’, for $5 each, to put on some of
their models for customers, prior to its official
release.
Jay Z: From the streets to a life of luxury
Shawn Corey Carter, better known as Jay Z is
one of the most successful music artistes
with 17 Grammy awards and a track record of
achievements as a rapper and record
producer. Jay Z, who is arguably one of the
greatest rappers of all time, has sold
approximately 50 million albums worldwide.
Born on December 4, 1969 in Brooklyn,
United States, Jay Z’s foray into business has
also paid off, in spite of his poor background.
Jay Z was only 11 years when his father,
Adnes Reeves, abandoned the family, leaving
him and his three siblings to the care of their
mother, Gloria Carter.
He once admitted in his music to having
been involved in selling crack cocaine as a
street boy and also claimed that at age 12,
he shot his older brother in the shoulder for
stealing his jewellery. He claimed that he
himself was shot at three times during that
time of his life.
But today, Jay Z is an entrepreneur with a
stake in NBA’s Brooklyn Nets. He co-owns
the 40/40 Club and is also the co-founder of
Roc-A-Fella Records and the clothing line,
Rocawear.
In 2012, Forbes estimated Jay Z’s worth at
nearly $500 million (N80bn). Remarkably,
Jay Z started his music career selling his CDs
out of his car because he could not get a
major label to give him a record deal.
It seems that Jay Z is still very much
connected to his roots as an African-
American. His contributions to the Broadway
show, Fela, which celebrated the work of the
late Nigerian music legend, Fela Kuti, was a
case in point. Jay Z said that Kuti’s work and
life story inspired him and stirred up his
interest to support the production of the
musical.
Jay Z is publicly known to be friends with US
President, Barack Obama, and both parties
have openly confessed their friendship. He
was a supporter of Obama’s candidacy to
become a senator and later, the US president.
Recently, Jay Z admitted in an interview that
he and Obama exchange text messages.
“Yeah, I’ve spoken to him on the phone and
had texts from Obama, of course,” he once
said.
In the past, Obama has also been quoted as
saying, “Every time I talk to Jay Z, who is a
brilliant talent and a good guy, I enjoy how
he thinks. That’s somebody who is going to
start branching out and can help shape
attitudes in a real positive way.”
Jay Z is married to American R and B singer,
Beyonce Knowles, who he gave a $5 million
(N800m) wedding ring in 2008. The couple
lives a lavish lifestyle and their daughter,
Blue Ivy, has also not been left out.
Jay Z once joked in an interview on TV that
he knew he would “probably have the worst,
spoiled little kid ever,” and he had reasons for
saying so. Blue Ivy was born amid a
$125,000 (N22m) security operation which
saw a bulletproof door temporarily installed
at the entrance to Beyonce’s room at the New
York hospital where she delivered.
It is said that Blue Ivy has her own nursery at
a basketball stadium that costs $1 million
(N160m) a year to rent. When Blue Ivy was
just five days old, the couple reportedly
bought her a $21,000 (N3.36m) crib. And
don’t forget the $16,000 (N2.56m) high chair
lined with crystals, designed by Carla
Monchen, from which Blue Ivy can eat when
she is old enough.
Jay Z owns a 14-room apartment in one of
the world’s most luxurious apartment
buildings, the Trump World Towers in New
York, at a cost of $65,000 (N10.4m) a
month. In addition, the couple owns a
property spread on about 2 acres of land in
Scarsdale, New York . The couple also owns a
large mansion in Indian Creek Island, Florida,
which was their onetime residence. The house
has 7 bedrooms, 8 full and two partial baths,
a tile roof, and a pool.
But that is not all, Jay Z has a $40 million
(N6.4bn) private jet, a Bombardier Challenger
850, which was presented to him as a gift by
his wife on the occasion of Father’s Day. The
jet can accommodate 15 passengers and
boasts a living room, two bathrooms and a
kitchen. By the way, the couple also has a
yacht that reportedly costs them $377,000
(N60.32m) a week. And what is it they say
about a man’s car saying a lot about him?
Well, if that’s the case, then Jay Z’s garage
screams about his flamboyant lifestyle.
Consider this! Jay Z has a Maybach Exelero,
a super luxury car customised to his taste
and priced at a whooping $8m (N1.28bn).
The car, report says, has a special place in
his car collection. Jay Z also has a Bugatti
Veyron, the world’s fastest legal sports car,
estimated to cost about $2 million (N320m).
Also in Jay Z’s garage are other luxury cars
like the Pagani Zonda, Rolls Royce Phantom,
Ferrari F430 Spider and the Porsche 911
Carrera Cabriolet.
Jay-Z, who is known to be a lover of art
work, wears Radii 420 Top Sneakers. He is
also a fan of Air Jordan sneakers from Nike.
However, Jay Z’s preferred phone is the
Blackberry and he has been spotted several
times using his customised Blackberry
Porsche designed P’9981 Smartphone. As a
birthday gift in December 2012, Beyonce gave
Jay Z a $5 million (N800m) Hublot
wristwatch, which has 1,282 diamonds in all
on its case, dial and bracelet. The watch was
said to be the most precious watch ever
created by the watch company.